An important component of communication is the message what is said or written. In order to understand communication, it is useful to understand the characteristics of messages and how to construct the most effective messages. Advertising people have proposed different theories for creating an effective message. Rosser Reeves of the Ted Bates advertising agency favoured linking the brand directly. Leo Burnett and his agency preferred to create a character that could express the product’s benefits.

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The Doyle, Dane and Bernbach agency favoured developing a narrative story with a problem, episodes related to the problem and outcomes. Whatever the method is used, creative people should talk to consumers, dealers and experts, to have a suitability of the message and understand like and dislikes of the customers and middlemen’s.

Some creative people use a deductive framework for generating the advertising message. John

Maloney proposed one framework in which he argued that the buyers expect one of four types of reward from a product, which are Rational, Sensory, Social and Ego satisfaction. Buyers m.ght visualise these rewards from results of use experience, product in use experience, or incidental to use experience. Crossing the four types of rewards with the three types of experience generate twelve types of advertising message. Message appeal is the feature that brings about attitude change on the part of audience. For example the appeal “gets cloths cleaner” is a rational reward promise following results of use experience.

In general messages can be divided into two type’s viz. Informative and Persuasive. Informative messages are messages whose main purpose is to give information. Persuasive messages are ones whose purpose is to influence and change behaviour or attitudes. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between these two types. Messages, which primarily give information, may be intended to persuade. However, generally, the types are distinguished by the sender’s intention.

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When constructing an informative message, it is most important to construct it in a way that it is clearly understood by the hearer.

There are some basic rules for constructing clear informative messages.

1) The message should be simple, with a clear statement of purpose. We may want to say everything we know about a subject. However, this can obscure the main points.

2) Use the language of the receivers. If the receivers are not likely to be familiar with technical terms, it is better to avoid them.

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3) Provide illustrations. Give examples of your major points. These can make the message clearer, more interesting and more memorable.

4) Repeat the important points. The attention of the receivers may wander, or they may not clearly understand one way a major point is expressed. Therefore, major points should be expressed in more than one way, though not to the point of boredom.

5) Use introductions and summaries for each major point. Begin each section with a brief statement of what will be discussed in that section, and conclude it with a summary of what was covered.

6) Allow opportunities for feedback. If possible, give the receiver(s) opportunities to ask questions or respond. Watch for facial expressions that indicate comprehension or lack of it.

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7) Select an organisational pattern that will allow the message to be presented most clearly. There are various common patterns of presenting information, including illustration (a statement with supporting data or examples), classification (dividing such things as persons, places, or items into types), cause and effect, and problem/ solution.